- Stephen Colbert, the Northwestern grad and Second City...

May 05, 2005|By From Tribune staff and news services

- Stephen Colbert, the Northwestern grad and Second City alum who plays a phony correspondent on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,"is getting his own Comedy Central gig. The show is expected to follow "The Daily Show" and lampoon cable news shows dominated by a single host. Think, he said, of Bill O'Reilly and Chris Matthews.

- Political commentator Arianna Huffington addresses the Women's Leadership Exchange in Chicago on Tuesday. The day before, Huffington's blog--www.huffingtonpost.com--debuts, with commentary from the likes of Walter Cronkite and "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David. Portions of the blog will be syndicated by Tribune Media Services, a unit of this newspaper's parent, Tribune Co.

- Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) hit the road Wednesday night to Austin, Texas, to build his political hope chest. A local investment banker threw a fundraising dinner to benefit the Hopefund, the new account Obama created to finance his political ambitions, whatever they may be.

- Actress Jennifer Beals is expecting her first child in November. A representative told people.com that the 41-year-old actress, a Francis Parker grad, and her husband, Canadian entrepreneur Ken Dixon, are set to be proud parents.

- For those who can't get enough of the webbed wonder, director Sam Raimi tells Sci Fi Wire he is interested in doing all six "Spider-Man" films he says Sony has planned.